Soaped pad, method and product



April 29, 1941.

c. FIELD SOAPED PAD, lMlzr'lHOD AND PRODUCT Filed Jupe 22, 1939 fai sheets-sneu 1.

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April 29, 194i., Figuren L 2,240,114 soAPBu 'PAD mamon AND Paonqr l Filed June 22,4. 1939 l 8 sheats-fshet 5 ATTORNEY April 29, 194;,

c. HELD SOAPED PAD, METHGD AND PRODUCT Fixed Jung 22, lss@ a sheetsqsneat INVENTOR Crosby eld lBY W* ATTORNEY d April, 29, 194i. C. AFIELD 2,240,114

' v swan un. mamon Ano 'rnonur 4Piledl une 22, 193sv s shegs-snet 5 ATTORNEYv April 29,11941 cQFlELD I soABED PAD, METHOD AND PRoDUT l med Jun 22, -1939 a'snewsnqet s y; FWWWHWWWWWWMMFHFM a 5 5 7 R@ Y .n of E T. N .F.A. 1.x( o N mm m .m C W u., Y :.1 B ...Mami ,m fw.

i E w w .l M M w I.. W m o l a w 5 April 29, 1941. c.' En 240,114 y soAPEn Pw, 111111101:Y AND PRQDUGT l Filed June 22,. 1939 8 Sheets-sheet '7 ATTORNEY April 29, 1941. c. FIELD soAPD PAD, Maman AND PRODUCT P'led JuneA 22, 1939 8 Sheefs-fShee't 8 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 29, 19.41

SOAPED PAD, METHOD AND PRODUCT Crosby Field, Brooklyn, N. Y., assigner to Brillo Manufacturing Company, Inc., a corporation oi New York Application June 422, 1939, serial No. zsasaz 1s claims. (ci. 25a- 91) My present invention relates more particularly to metal wool pms impregnated with soap,

primarily intended for use in cleansing purposes, particularly adapted for kitchen and household use.

By the preferred apparatus and. method, a

fluffy strip of springy steel wool fibers is drawn t through successive coordinated rotary mechanisms which operateprogressively; flrst, nonpositively feeding the strip; then spreading the.

strip laterally, widening and thinning it to form a ribbon to a predetermined width and correspending thinness; then, while in such condition. discharging fluid soap on the ribbon; then squeezing it'to thoroughly impregnate it with an excess of soap; then. applying predetermined spring pressure to expel excesssoap proportionally to the slightly varying amount of the springy ber; then drying the soap in the ribbon. to desired plastic stiifnessfto render the ribbon relatively inelastic so that for the next succeeding step, it is of practically fixed length, width and thickness; then measuring and cutting oli successive equal lengths, containing substantially equal amounts of the steel wool fiber and of soap there- The latter step is preferably performed on the lperipheral bed of a rotary pad-forming unit from which the completed pads are automatically ejected onto a conveyer, for delivery to a final drying mechanism, which in turn may supply an automatic boxing machine.

Special features of the method include regulating the initial widening ofthe strip, tension.

applied thereto during the widening, degree of pressure applied in impregnating the ribbon with the soap. employing less pressure. preferably elastically applied, for squeezing excess soap therefrom, partially drying the resulting ribbon -to a. proper degree,'cutting off equal lengths of the ribbon, spinning thesame to form a roll, and

pressing it to predetermined volume to form a attened pad having steel wool laminae the surfaces of which are more or less stuck together by partially dried soap.

The product is a relatively rigid, compact pad, which keeps its shape much better than unsoaped pads, yet readily absorbs water and becomes elastic, when used for its intended washing and scrubbing Purposes. 1

By carrying out the above described method in properly adjustable apparatus hereinafter described, such soap pads may be produced at high rate and low cost.

The above and other features and advantages.

of my-invention may be more readily understood from the following description in connection with 1 Fig. 1 is a diagram of strip-supplying, widen- 6Fl ing, ribbon-Soaping, partial drying, pad-forming and pad delivery mechanism;

Fig. lais a similar diagramshowing a modified form. o f the unit wherein the Widener is omitted and a different method is used for impregnating the ribbon with soap;

Fig. lb is a. diagram of -an arrangement for continuous supply of 'wool strip;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the paddle Wheel feeder at right angles to the axis, taken onthe line 2-2, Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section in the plane of the axis on the line 3 4.' Fig. 2;

Fig. 4'is a side elevation,` partly in section,

showing the Widener -for Widening the strip to approximate ribbon form, in combinationl with the apparatus for impregnatihg the ribbon with soap:

Fig. 5 is a. top plan view of the Widener and soaper as shown in'Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a. section through the Widener on line 6 8, Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section en the line '1 -1, Fig. o', showing one of the Widener disc assemblies;

Fig. 8 is a longltu l vertical section of the Soaping roll mechanism, on une c-u, Fig. 5;

Fig. aa is a view like' Fig. 8, but showing a modiied form wherein-the ribbon is'soapeuv by submerging it in the uid soap;l

Fig. 8b is a perspective view of a soap scraper that may be used on the rolls;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the drum for drying l the soaped ribbon. which is received from the soaper; l

Fig. 10 is an elevation of the same as viewed from the right, as indicated by the arrows .I -Iu 0n Fig. -9;

Fig. ll'is a vertical axial section showing the interior` of the crier and the means for -introducing and removing the heating fluid from the interior of the drum;

Fig. 12 is a vertical section indicating more or less schematically the phases of operation of the padder;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the pad; Fig.,14 is a sectional view of the pad on the 4line II-II, F18'. 13;

Fig. 15 isV a perspective view indicatingin a general way the layers constituting the pad vwhen the same is carefully unfolded; and

Fig. 16 is a section-on the line I6-I8, Fig. l indicating in a general way the tendency to greater concentration of the soap, on the surfaces of the ribbon when layers thereof are i pressed in contact to form the pad.

In the diagram, Fig'. l, the uify wool strip' a is shown as drawn from a. carton b in'which ai convenient length thereof has been deposited and x being without twist, lies in more or less zig-zagy I formation.

The rear end of the strip was ilrst carried up over the edge of the carton and hangs d own a couple of feet or so, as shown at c; and thereafter the strip was allowed to fall into the carton until it was filled. To make clearer what actually happens, it may be well to repeat that Figs. 1 and 1b are entirely diagrammatic; and to explain that in practice thefstrip as 4cus tomarily drawn from'the knives of a metal Wool cutting machine, comprises very long, ne, curly fibers that extend lengthwise in the strip; and, when straightened by stretching, they approximate parallelism. Moreover, initially, when fed into receptacle b, the strip is a very fluffy, light, exible, somewhat flattened cylinder. `Consequently. the zig-zags, though ilatwise and nontwist, do not in fact have the regularity which might be inferred from the merely diagrammatic showing in Figs. 1 and 1b; or even from the showing in Figs. 2 and 3 where the strip has been considerably stretched and thinned. A continuous supply of wool strip having such characteristics is kept up by splicing a trailing rear end c, to the leading end of an additional length of strip. Such splicing is easily accomplished by intermingling adjacent ragged ends of the strips.

As shown in the detailed diagram, Fig. 1b, the spliced down-hanging portion c includes the leading end of a second carton b', with the wool strip similarly arranged therein; and any number of cartons b2, b3, b4, may bethus joined, with intervening loops cl, c2, c3, etc.

The strip a is drawn from carton b and fed forward by paddle wheel feeder I which nonpositiyvely feeds and shakes the incoming and outgoing portion of the uify strip (see Fig. 2). When the bottom of carton b has been reached, the ribbon continues being drawn over the paddle wheel l, thus carrying the spliced loop 'c, which includes the leading end of the strip from carton b2; and this continues without interruption, thus making it a continuous uninterrupted process.

From the paddle wheel |the fluffy strip isdrawn into the ribbon-forrning Widener 2, in which the strip is widened and thinned to predetermined width and corresponding thickness impregnatingtherein a desired amount of iiuid soap (see Figs. 4, 5, 8), the soap being supplied from tank 4 and pipes connected therewith. The soap impregnated ribbon then passes to and around the drier drum l (see Figs. 9, 10 and 11),' a suitable number of times, thence to the ribbon cut-off, rolling and compressing padder I, (Fig. 12), the latter being designed and operating somewhat as shownand described in my copending application Ser. No. 247,727, filed Dec, 24, 1938.

The paddle wheel feeder shown in Figs. `1, 2 and 3, is rotated. at speed required to harmonize with traction of the Widener, and subsequent mechanisms, through drivingv mechanism. described hereinafter. As is obvious from Figs. 2 and 3. the paddle wheel consists of parallel end discs la, la, held together by radial webs riveted thereto, the webs terminating in parallel, rounded, preferably cylindrical, stripengaging elements. The peripheries of the discs la, project radially, to afford lateral guide surfaces for the fluffy strips. As shown more clearly in Fig. 2, the

paddles. preferably four, are arranged in diametpaddles lb, lc, being of bare metal, are, or quickly become, polished and slippery so that their engagement(I with the strip affords relatively slight non-positive feeding effect; but the other pair of paddles, Id, le, have their strip engaging portions covered with canvas, Ig, which affords much greater frictional engagement with the strip so that the feeding effect of each, though slight at times of initial and final engagement with the strip, nevertheless, during the intermediate timewof more direct thrust on the strip, they are effective in practically preventing either forward or rearward slip of the strip. As indicated in Fig. 2. the incoming portion of the uiy strip approaches the paddle wheel at an upward angle somewhat as indicated in said Fig. 2. Similarly, the outgoing forwardly fed portion of the strip slants downward from the paddle wheel to the Widener, somewhat as shown. The paddle wheel is thus located adjacent a shifting convergence point of shifting incoming and outgoing portions of the ribbon, so the rotation of the paddle wheel has the effect of rapidly raising andlowering the deflection points of the ribbon.

'I'his will be evident from consideration of an intermediate position of the paddles, as shown in dotted lines, 2. In this position, the length of str-ip between the two dotted line paddles, passes much closer to the axis of rotation .than in any other position. This position closest to the axis is indicated by circle 1:, andthe position most remote from the axis is indicated by circle il. 'I'hus the apex portion of the strip is raised and lowered and shifted with considerable rapidity, and at somewhat varying speeds, thereby impanting more or less gentle endwise and tran'sverse wave motion to both the incoming and outgoing portions of the strip. Advantageous results are that the strip is stretched longitudinally, permitting readjustment of the fibers toward parallelism; chips and loose fragments of wool are shaken from the stretching, shifting fibers of the strip; and, as concerns the incoming portion, said motions are very effective in shaking upllfted folds of the strip free from the `folds of lower layers,v on which they have been resting in the canton.

Another important feature is the relative nonslip oi .the strip when engaged with the canvas covered paddles ld, le, as contrasted with the relatively free slip which is permissible whenthe support is mainly by direct thrust of the exposed slippery metal contact surfaces of paddles Ib, ic.

In ythis connection, it should be noted that the paddle wheel is operated at a suilicient speed to progress `the wool uniformly when the canvas covered paddles are in ,engagement therewi-th, while the tendency of the smooth metal paddle is much less positive; so, that twice during each revolution of the paddle wheel there are instants when the wool strip is quite free to slip. `The pointis that when an increased rate of feed re-` suits from differences in elasticity ofthe strip, or a substantial increase in the width or weight of a portion of ribbon Ithen passing,the lstrip will be fed forward too fast, thereby permitting the porf.tion between lthe paddle wheel and the Widener to dip downward to an excessive extent. This is immediately 'obvious ito the operator, who, by merely laying a. `restraining hand on -the.strip passing from YIthe carton to the paddle wheel, may retard .the strip during rone or more of the slip contact instantsthereby restoring the norrically opposite pairs, Ib, ic. and Id, le. 'I'he 75 mal tension of :this portion of the strip.

lEach bolt is adjustably tensioned by `a nut 2,240,114 i Y ,v

whioh limits the extent to which ron ag ooh' swim;y toward roll 3h, while the spring ailor'ds prede- The somewhat attened andstretched steel wool strip passes from the paddle wheel to the widener -2 (Figs. 4 and 7) through a converging guide 2a, friction of which applies some additional resistance and stretching eiect as the strip is pulled into the-Widener. From the guide Ia,

` the. strip passes over a canvas belt 2b, mounted on idle entrance roller 2c; and an exit roller 2d which latter is mounted on shaft 2e rotated by sprocket 2f, through and in synchronism with thetermined spring pressure for squeezing excess fluid soap out of the ribbon. and this 'pressure will be constant regardless'of varying thicknesses yof monsoon.

squeezing rolls la, 3h, 'the ribbon passes over roll in and down between it and roll 3p,

rolls of Ithe soaper 3. The intermediate idler rollers 2g are for supporting the belt andstrip thereon in operative relation to four gangs of idling discs. The first three gangs are in oppositely skewed pairs operating upon the lupper surface of lthe stretched strip, where it is elas- Y 1 tically supported between the idler rolls 2a. The

first gang consists of two sets of four discs, 2li., 2i,

skewed in opposite directions to spread the upper surface of the strip, from the benter line thereof, a certain distance outward.

'Ihe second set of discs 2i, 2k, consist of three discs each, interleaved and rotating in parallel planes with discs 2h., 2i, adapted to hold and furgle gang .of idler discs 20, extending entirely'v across the widened .strip and rotating in planes exactly parallel with the direction of the movement of the strip, thereby holding it in its laterally spread condition. l

A ll of these discs are idlers mounted for very free rotation, as shown in Fig. '1, so as tobe easily rotated by the strip as i-t is carried underv them on unsupported portions ofthe canvas belt,

assisted by the traction of rolls of the soaper 3.

Fig. 'I shows one of the skewed disc gangs in vertical axial section. Stud shaft 2p projects through and is bolted to stationary side bar24.'

by screws 2q'. It is formed withlubricant ducts 2r, and has an anti-friction metal sleeve 2s tted thereon. The discs 2t and intermediate spacers 2u, are laterally clamped together by rivets 2v, and this assembly fits sleeve 2s; and these are detachably held on the stud by endplate 21o secured by screw 2a.'.

The ribbon thus stretched, widened and laterally rolled, passes through the converging wool guide 3a (Figs. 4, 5, .8); then over roll lb,`which is geared to and rotates roll 3c. As most simply shown in Fig. 8, the ribbon over the top of roll 3b, and fluid soap of proper consistency is supplied thereon through nozzle 3d. Thence' the ribbon carrying the soapl passes downward between which is slightly-spaced from but geared to roll tn. From roll lp, the strip passes up over roll Sq and thence to the drum drier i. These last three rolls `are for applying proper frictional traction-- on the soaped ribbon, and distributing it 'over suilicient flictlonal surface to avoid danger of rupturlng the ribbon.

VAll the above described lsoaping rolls are provided. with scrapers s, for removing soap' thaty I sticks to them; and, as shown in Fig. 8b, these Scrapers may consist of .spring blades s2- held between bars sl, s3, by rivets sk'bar sl includingy end brackets s! with holes s6, for seeming bolts.

The'iiuid soap of composition and at temperature necessary for maintaining the properdegree offiuidity (viscosity),`say, 180 F. to 185 F., ismaintained in tank la (Fig` 4), ata level safely"l below the lowermost of the strip engaging rolls,

3g, Ik, and its temperature is maintainedA constant by steam circulating in jacket 4b from inlet 4c to outlet Id. `The nid soap is drawndownward from the bottom of the tank through pipe le, controlled by valve lf and propelled by rotary pump Ig, discharging through pipe 4h, leading to nomle 3d.' Excess soap, if any, falls to the bottom of the tank la, for recirculation: and the intake of the pumpis supplied withadditional soap from soap kettle l through pipe 4i, controlled by 4 valves 4k, llc.;

The various Soaping rolls are driven from a source of power described below, through'gear 4m (Fig. 5) on drive main shaft ln, carrying pinion 4p (Flg. 8), meshing with pinion 4p', meshing with gear lq on`shaft 4r of roll 3h, which'latter, as above described, is geareddirectly to the squeeze roll 3g. i

Asbest shownln Fig, 4, theshaft 4r or rou an carries a sprocket 4s around which passes sprocket `chain 4t, which, as shown by the` arrows, slants' around sprocket 4v on vthe-shaft of soap impregnating roll Ib, thence-back over sprocket 4u on the shaft of the top feed-out roll lq, thence downward to the sprocket 4s on the shaft 4r of squeeze roll Ih, whence the driving power is derived The shaft of the iirst soaping roll 3b carries av sprocket '410, which through sprocket chain 2f' drives the shaft 2e' of roller 2d which drives the Widener belt 2b: and sprocket la; on' the shaft off roll 3c drives chain y which drives sprocket Iz on the shaft of roll Sn. r

` The soaped strip, as it leavesthelastroll Bq r of the soaper, is a relatively thin ribbon ofv deflnite width, whichfthen passesto the drum drier said rolls 3b, 3c, the pass between which is care- A fully adjusted so as to apply the right pressure A for thoroughly improghaung the ribbon Iwith the soap. The adjustment is by screw le swivelled in xed standard 3f. l

The ribbon being throughly saturated, then passes through a second pair of rolls 30,111. which are geared together, the roll 3h being the driving roll, while the driven roll la, is mounted in the ends of two levers Ii, heldparallei by the rod 3i', eachlever being pivoted at 3j and spring-pressed toward roll 3h by a thrust spring Ik on a bolt, 3m.

` 8 (see Figs. 9, l0 and 11) It is now of relatively heavy weight compared withv its thickness, and itslongitudinal elasticity has been greatly decreased, while an important degree oftransverse -iluillness remains.

At the entrance of the vdrier the ribbonengages between forks of a Ysteadyingfguide 5a, which damps out vibrations which'mightv otherwise be set up due to the relatively high speed of feed of the ribbon, and which guides vtheLribbon to the drum, tangent thereto, so'that the ribbon is'wound thereon as a` true-cylinder convolution. As such,

31k' 75 itis wound under, up andover the drum 5h until it leaves the drum and passes over and around an idler transfer roller, 5c, which is flanged and properly spaced laterally out of alignment with saidfirst convolution. The portion of the ribbon intervening between its point of tangency with the drum and its point of tangency with the transfer roller, is smoothly guided to permit this lateral shift Without distortion; also to axially twist it 180? to bring its exterior face in contact with the drum. For this purpose the ribbon is first engaged by a depending finger 5d, which smoothly twists it 90 for the lateral transfer. It then slants across to the far side of a diagonal guide finger 5e, which smoothly twists it about 45-more, whence it passes under horizontal rod 5i, which completes the 180 twist, and guides it down between the flanges of said transfer roller. This transfer roller, 5c, is slightly more than one ribbon width to the right of the first convolution, sothat it presents the ribbon to the drum in a second true cylinder convolution which passes under, up and over the drum to a second twisting finger 5d, then a second diagonal finger 5e, and horizontal rod 57', turn over and guide the ribbon to a second transfer roller 5c; and so on across the drum. The soaped ribbon is thus completely turned over, contacting the drum on one face and then on the other, and it does this intermittently, until it has been properly cooked on both faces. The intermittent travel of the free portion of -each convolutionout away from the drum,through the air and back to the drum, permits freer evaporation from the ribbon, and this may be promoted by using steam radiator 5e.'

It is to be noted that yif the ribbon is dried too much before entering the rotary pad making machine 6, the resulting pad will be a too closely compacted mass of wool and soap; and if it is not suiilciently dry, then the resulting pad will be likely to be irregular in shape.

The above described deilecting transfer fingers, 5d, 5e, and rod 57', vsuccessively engaging opposite faces of the ribbon, operate to smooth and regularize the surfaces -so that the ribbon as it i passes o to theA rotary padder is thin and relatively uniform in width and thickness, as compared with its condition when it passed from the soaper to the drier; and the fibers are stretched and worked to such a degree that its longitudinal elasticity is considerably decreased, although its tensile strength isincreased and some of the fibers retain enough resilience to impart a ,desirable degree of flufilness. `In this connection, it is to be noted that even after being compressed to pad form, the structure is so porous and so of the periphery'ofl the drum where it'is left bare by ribbon passing to the transfer rollers 5c.

They are held by lever arm 5r, as shown.

As shown in Fig. 1, the ribbon, which has been impregnated with soap in quantity and disposition proper for insuring the desired degree of iiuffiness in the pad, passes from the drier 5 over a steadying guide-roll, Sz, to the padder 6, the construction of which, and the operations performed therein, are similar to those described for unsoaped wool ribbon, in my said copending application; with the important difference, however, that for use with soaped ribbon it has been found that soap sticking on the relatively cool parts of the rotary padder, will very soon congeal, and this will interfere with the proper functioning of the padder. 'I'his applies particularly to the exterior peripheral bed on which the ribbon is wound, and to the projecting lateral flanges by which it is guided. The mechanism of the padder and recesses in the bed prevent effective use of Scrapers such as are used on the drum drier, but I have found that by arranging a suitable number of steam jets, particularly about the periphery of the rotor, as diagrammatically indicated at la, 8b, etc. (Fig. 1),- they will be effective to wash olf and carry out of the line of travel of the ribbon, any such soap; ,and they will also tend to maintain said perihpery, and also the entire interior operating mechanism at a temperature sufllciently above normal to maintain a suitable degree of plasticity for the soap during the various pad-forming operations.-

Referring now to Fig 12, which, for present purposes, may be considered as a diagram of the operations performed, and without going into details as to the mechanism whereby the various wool y engaging instrumentalities are operated, the functions of said instrumentalities may be briefly described as follows:

'I'heV ribbon passes to the padder around flanged guide-roller 8c; then around an are of the peripheral bed 6d, to where it is held by clamp 8e. There are'six sets of pad-forming instrumentalities, and as the wheel rotates in the direction of the arrow, pulling the ribbon upward, the ribbon is tensioned enough to make it lie smoothly although, as above noted, its stretchability is limited. Further rotation carries each of the six sets of pad-forming instrumentalities through a cycle of pad-forming operations, successive 60 arcs of operation beingv indicated by positions A, B, C, D, E, F.

-Ai the 1ower end of are A, clamp seA is holding the end of the ribbon while rotation is wrapping desired temperature, say 300 F., enters through supply pipe 5m and passes into the drum through the rotary hollow shaft in which. supports the drinn. The connection between the stationary -supply pipe im and the rotary hollow shaft in,

Condensate is discharged through pipe 57's, the

intake of which is held stationaryadjacentthe.

it around a 60 arc of the peripheral bed ld.

A little more rotation will cause the lowermost trough-like boxingin member lf which is addacent F, to be pushed endwise toward the observer into position shown at A, where it forms the two transverse sides and top end of a compression bon between itand the next preceding clamp,

will be an accurately measured length suitable for one pad. Then the knife 6g swings in close -to lower clamp 8e and cuts off the ribbon between it and boxer Bf, but this lower' clamp still continues to hold the rearward cut end of the ribbon until the wheel is rotated enough to bring a succeeding boxer into position 'A, and a succeeding clamp 6e and its adjacent knife 6g, into their respective clamping and cut-off positions.

As rotation continues, the clamp 6e beyond boxer Bf, releases the forward end of the cut-off length of ribbon which is then retained by the lower edges of the boxer 'as shown at A, untilrolled-up ribbon in the boxer.

By the time the boxer reaches position D, the piston 6h. has compressed the cylinder against the top of the boxer, forming it into a flat pad. Thereupon said boxer slides rearward away from the observer, leaving the compressed pad-with its edgesv wedged between the peripheral side flanges.

Between D and E, the piston retreats, leaving a space below the pad for removal of the pad by stationary stripper 6k, as the rotor carries saidl pad past position E. These pads fall on conveyer Sn, which carries awaythe moist or semi-dry 2 and I to supply soaped and ypartially dried v' ribbon to the padder when the padder is operating at said practical rate.

Hence, as diagrammatically indicated on Fig. 1, a constant speed motor 1 drives a gear pinion 1a, meshing with gear teeth 1b on a wheel that y rotates the padder. Sprocket chain l'c from the l shaft of said pinion 1a drives the conveyer that carries away the pads.

The ribbon-forming and drying units are driven from a separate motor 8 which rotates the input shaft of a Reeves drive, which is a well known speed varying mechanism characterized by spaced-apart pulleys vand a belt connecting them,

- the pulleys 'being adjustable for increasing the l eiective periphery of the drive pulley 8a and for the incoming ribbon makes tangential contact The proximate local driving means for each i unit of the apparatus, have been described in connection with each, but the system whereby the moving parts'of all units are one with anothenvare best understood by reference to the diagram-F13. 1. 1 Y Y In general. it may be saidv that the speed of the final unit, the padder, ydetermines a standard harmoniz'ing speed for the drum drier 5 which precedes it. The drum drier drive shaft is a primary speed determiner for the drive-shaft of the soaper 3, -and the soaper drives the widener- 2, through gearing imparting the proper speed to its feeder belt; and through another chain of corelatively decreasing the effective periphery of the driven pulley 8b without varying the operative length lof the belt between them.

In the present case, the variable speed output shaft, 8b of this Reeves drive No. l, rotates pulley 8c on' the same shaft with theabove described sprocket pinion 5i on shaft 5k which drives the drum drier through sprocket chain 5h, and sprocket wheel 5f as already described. On the same shaft 5k there is a second sprocket wheel which drives chain 8d which drives the input shaft 8e of manually adjustable Reeves drive No. 2, the I variable speed output shaft 8f of which actuates chain 8i driving the previously described malnshaft Ir of the soaper. As shown in Fig. 5, the shaft Ir carries the sprocket Iy which through sprocket chain drive lz rotates the paddle wheel. How this shaft drives other shafts of the soaper` 3, and of the Widener 2, and of paddle wheel I, has already' been described. The point is that the Reeves drive No. 1, controls the speed of the drum drier and this speed cannot be altered without proportionally changing the speed of the input shaft ,of Reeves drive No. 2; but a secondary or superposed speed variation may be imposed on the soaper, Widener and paddle by adjusting said Reeves drive No. 2.

While the padder and Reeves drive No. 1 are shown as driven by separate motors, this is merely for convenience, particularly in running or starting them separately. The,motor vii could be omitted and the padder motor 1 connected to the input shaft 8a of said Reeves drive No. 1; or the hook-up could be otherwise changed in Vvarious ways which would provide properly`V hary monlizing speeds for the various mechanisms.

gearings. the soaper drives. the paddle wheel feeder at the speed desired for it. l y

The gearings between the drive-shaft of the soaper andthe Widener, and the separate ldrive from a roll shaft of the soaper to the padder, are predesigned for proper cooperation: and though driving speeds of this group as a whole, may be manually adjustable as a whole.' the Referring again tetheeteei wee1 strip, steel wool ribbon, soaped ribbon, and completed soap pad, it will-be obvious that it is impossible to illustrate the qualities, quantities or even the appeareance of the, bers or of the soap, in India ink drawings conforming to the Patent Office stan# basic speed thereof'is made toV vary with any change of speed of drive o f the drying drum. Hence in practice, it is more convenient to adjust the speed of padder 0for' a practical rate of operations of the complicated mechanism dards, but some of them have been more or less remotely approximated in Figs. 13-16, inclusive. In perspective of the pad, Fig. 13, attempt is made to indicate the reentrantlv folded ends of the pad `at 8a; also the practically unvarying .width of the ribbon, wherebythe end 9b of the pad. presents a definite, fairly even plane surface.

In cross-section. Fig'. 14,`the approximation ofregular'reentrant folds la at the ends of the pad therein and nnen adjust thefepeed of umts s, s.'

are shown, and attempt is made to' indicate the more or less diffused strata of soap lc, whereby adjacent surfaces of the ribbon were stuck together; also the relatively fluy springy layers 9b between them. This novel stratified structure of the pad, wherein the soap is concentrated in adjacent surfaces, sufliciently to make them stick together; while also leaving relatively fluffy, springy strata between them, is also indicated in the cross-section, Fig. 16.

In the modification shown in Figs. 1a, 8a, all parts of the apparatus may be the same as in Fig. 1, except that the Widener mayl be omitted and the soaping rolls are submerged in the fluid soap.

The wool strip passes 'through funnel 2a', and around flanged idler rolls 2h', 2j', and 2m', which aord some resistance to traction; thence down into the fluid soap, which aords additional resistance; thence around submerged traction roller 2d', which is driven by sprocket chain 2e' `driven from the submerged impregnating roll 3b' which is geared to roll Ic'. The pair of rolls 3b 3c', being for the purpose of impregnating the tensioned ribbon with fluid soap, the roll 3b' may be made vertically adjustable to vary the spacing of the pass between them, similarly to rolls 3b, 3c, of Fig. 8. From roll 3c', the impregnated. ribbon` passes to squeeze rolls Ig, 3h, which are located above the level of the liquid the same asy in Fig. 8, and above these are the same frictional traction rolls Sn, 3p; and the ilnal exit roll Sq, as in Fig. 8.

Because of this new submerged position of impregnating rolls 3b', 3c', the drive from shaft'lr of ,the stationary squeeze roll 3h, is through a sprocket chain It which slants downward around the sprocket of the fixed impregnating roll 3c'. then directly upward over the sprocket of friction roll 3p, then up over the sprocket of the exit friction roll lq, then straight down to the sprocket of the fixed squeeze roll.

In this Fig. 8a modification, each soaping roll is provided with ascraper s like thosel used in the preferred soaper, Fig. 8. Y

When Widener 2 is thus omitted the funnel 2a', idler rolls 2h', 27", 2m', together with the viscosity and the depth pressure of the fluid soap, oppose the traction, and thereby considerably stretch, flatten and widen the strip toward ribbon form: but these effects are somewhat less regular than in the preferred form; so, it results that the fiattening and widening of the ribbon, are somewhatl less regular and seem to occur mostly in the excess squeezing rolls la, 3h. Moreover when such ribbon is submerged, it does not take the soap in quite the same way, because the ribbon has not been stretched laterally. The soap seems not to penetrate as deeply belowthe surface of the ribbon; and the amount of soap impregnated is not v so easily adjusted.

For either form of soaper (Figs. 1, la)l the fluffy metal wool strip may be supplied in any desired'way: and where automatic .means or methods are employed, they may be widely varied.

' For such variation, the order of importance of A the generic and specific novel features herein disclosed are, first, non-positive traction for the feed means; second, traction by a` power driven rotor having' peripheral contact surface of relatively great frictional traction,l alternating with surnfaces"of'minimum traction; third. non-contacting peripheral spaces between surfaces of maximum and minimum traction, to permit the varyof the strip; fourth, non-thrust, horizontal-layer arrangement of the strip supply in a receptacle, or a series of such receptacles having the end of the bottom layer of one receptacle connected with the leading end of the tcp layer of the next receptacle.

There are several important reasons why all my purposes are best served by the above described cascade-like arrangement of a series of separate receptacles, each adapted to loosely contain zig-zags of the fluffy wool strips. A primary reason is that the rotary padder, which sets the speed of all antecedent parts of the apparatus. produces pads at a very high rate; and this uses up strip faster than it is now customarily produced by any one group of knives of a steel wool cutting machine; consequently, I prefer to keep up the strip supply bytaking lengths as long as can be conveniently handled, either from different machines, or from several different groups of knives of a single machine. Furthermore, the speed of operation of the drum drier and also of the ribbon Widener and soaper have to be delicately adjusted; also, as heretofore explained in great detail, to have the rate of supply of iiuify strip,` delicately responsive to end traction of the Widener, applied through a considerable length of strip-freely suspended, and said length is kept up by non-positive, self-accommodating feeding means.

`Th means for and method of applying the viscous fluid soap may be varied, provided it permits of properly controlling the amount and distribution of the soap in the ribbon.

The means for and method of drying soaped ribbon may be varied provided it permits of properly controlling the temperature and degree of drying or cooking of the soap.

The partially dried soaped ribbon may be cut in lengths and shaped as pads by hand or with or without auxiliary mechanism, but where a compressor is used it is preferably heated and cleaned by steam jets.

While these and other variations, or omissions are possible, without departing from the spirit of my invention, it will be obvious that every one of the novel features hereof, is specifically designed for use in combination with all other novel features, and that such omissions or variations are likely to be detrimental, in greater or less degree.

It will be obvious that pads formed in accordance with my present invention are radically dif ferent from and vastly superior to pads such as shown in Fig. 5 of my prior Patent No. 1,646,395. In the latter pad the metal wool contains no soap at all, and the soap which is between the convolutions of the metal wool, is a separate sheet of soap which is simply wound between the convoiutions of the unsoaped metal wool and hence tends to separate rather than bind together adiacent surfaces of said metal wool. Hence the soap is a source of structural weakness, whereas the present pad in which the soap is impregnated in thin ribbon of the metalwool, binds and stiifens the pads so that before use they are4 practically uniform in external appearance, and when in use they hold together better than the pads made by mechanism similar to the present rotary padder, but which, as set forth in my above specified prior application. were made from metal wool `ribbons containing no soap.

I claim:

into metal wool pads for cleaning purposes, which -ing traction to cause radial and end wise shaking 76 lrlethocl includes incorporating in thestrip, under pregnating said strip, under pressure, with an lexcess of hot fluid soap; squeezing out excess soap pressure, a desired amount of hot fluid soap; -partially solidifying the soap; and forming the strip into a pad. 2. A method of making iluy metal wool strips into soap-containing ribbons to be used for clean;

ing purposes, which method includes impregnating the strip, under pressure, with moresoap than is desired; squeezing out excess soap 'by constant resilient pressure maintained independently of variations in thickness or resilience of ,10 the strip; and applying heat to both surfaces of the ribbon, first to one surface and then tgathe other. y

3. A method of making uy metal wool strips into soap-containing ribbons to be used for cleaning purposes; which method includes tensioning and widening the strip and while maintaining the tension, impregnating said strip, under pressure, with an excess of hot fluid soap and squeezing out so much of theexcess soap as wouldl destroy resilience of the strip when the soap is solidified, said squeezing being by pressure resiliently maintained independently of variations of thickness or resilience of the strip; and applying heat to dry the ribbbn. I

4. A method of making uy metal wool strips into metal wool pads for cleaning purposes, which n method includes incorporating in the strip, under pressure, hot uid soap in such limited quantity andso diused as to ensure resilience of the pad.

when ,the pad is formed and the soap is solidified; then partially solidifying the soap in said metal wool and while in such condition, forming the strip in layers and compressing the layers to form a pad; then further solidifying `the, soap.

5. A method for supplying a continuous nutty,

I flexible, metal wool strip which includes feeding y the stripendwise into va container while retaining the trailing end of the strip outside of the con- -tainer in position for splicing to the leading end '40` of another similar strip; and permitting the strip 'to zig-zag in' natural non-twist layers with the leading portion .forming the top layer, and applying non-positive traction to the strip to lift the leading portion to a higher level,and thence 4:,

advancing it to a lower level by positiveV traction applied endwise thereof. l l

6. A method as specied in claim 5 and in whichv the high level portion of the strip is intermittently raised and lowered to shake it. 7. A method of making uiy metal wool strips into soap-containing ribbons to be used for cleaning purposes, which method includes impregnatying the strip, under pressure, with more soap than is desired; squeezing out excess soap; tensioning the ribbon and applying heat directly on both its. surfaces to partially dry the ribbon, thereby causing partially dried soap to' predominate on the surfaces of the ribbon.

- s. A method of making hurry metal wool'strips 60 into soap=containing ribbons to be used for cleaning purposes, which method includes impregnating the strip, under pressure, with more soap than is desired; squeezing out excess soap by constant resilient pressure maintained independently of variations in thickness or resilience of the strip; tensioning the ribbon and applying heat directly on both its surfaces to partially dry the ribbon, thereby causing partially dried soap to predominate on the surfaces of the ribbon. 7

l9. A method of making duffy metal wool strips into metal wool-pads for ,cleaning purposes, which l method includes tensioning and widening the strip and while maintaining the tension. im-

partially drying the strip by applying heat to both surfaces thereof; severing the partially dry soaped ribbon into lengths suitable forl a pad, rolling up each length to form acylinder, and flattening the cylinder diametrically; and com-- pressing the roll to a predetermined volumeto form a pad of predetermined density and elasticity.

10. A method of making uiy metal wool strips into metal wool pads for cleaning purposes, which .Y

method includes tensioning and widening the strip and while maintaining the tension, impreg-` nating said strip, under pressure, with an excess of hot fluid soap; squeezing out excess soap by constant resilient vpressure maintained independently of variations in thickness or resilience of the strip partially di'ying the strip by applying heat toboth surfaces thereof; severing the-partially dry soaped ribbon into lengths suitable for a pad, .rolling up -each length to form a cylinder, and

flattening the cylinder diametrically; andv compressing the roll to a predetermined volume to form a pad of predetermined density and elasgticity.

11. A method of making fluffy metal wool strips into soaped metal wool pads for cleaning purposes, which method includes stretching the strip,

impregnating said strip, under pressure, with more hot fluid soap than is desired; squeezing out excess soap by constant resilient pressure maintained independently of variations in thickness or resilience of the strip; partially drying the soaped ribbon by applying heat first to one surface and then to the other surface thereof; severing the partially dry soaped ribbonv into suitablel lengths suitable for a pad, and assembling'it in layers; and compressing the layers to a predetermined volume required to form a pad of predetermined, substantial, porosity and elasticity.

12. A scouring pad comprising a .length ofy metal wool ribbon wound and flattened to form -a multiplicity of thin pressed-together layers, said.

ribbon comprising avery thin intermediate portion of comparatively unsoaped wool and two surface portions impregnatedfwith greater quantities of soap whereby the contacting ribbon surfaces adhere and form .soapy strata separated by elastic metal wool.

13. A scouring pad comprising a multiplicity of layers of thin, pressed-together ribbons of metal wool each ribboncomprising athin innerlayer of comparatively unsoaped resilient metal` wool and two surface layers impregnated withl tions ofthe ribbon, with a quantityot soap adhering to the outer or contacting portions of the ribbon andv present between the interstices of the outer portions of thesaid ribbon, and with sub stantially less soap present in the intermediate portions of the ribbon.-

15. A pad such as speciiied in` claim 14 having two opposite reentrant edges.

16. A pad as specified in claim 134 m which lthe ends onthe flattened roll form two approximately. flatparallel ends of the pad.

\ caesar FIELD. I 

